Almost not a pipe dream now

It feels like we’ve been waiting for the bike-share program to start for ten years, when really it’s only been a year. And we wouldn’t have been waiting much longer if it weren’t for that stupid goddamn hurricane. But now the word is out that the program will FINALLY roll out in May, which is a perfectly good time for a bike ride. And we also know which stations are slated to be open when the program launches too. (more…)

Stopping for a nosh at the 2011 Century Bike Tour. Via FB.

The NYC Century Bike Tour on Sept. 9 offers plenty of company as you wind your way through routes starting at 15 miles and going up to 100 miles. Beyond just the victory of touring the city on bike, it’s added another incentive this year: Bikes & Bites, where riders can stop at local businesses along their route and get discounts and freebies at places like Nathan’s, Brooklyn Label and Rockaway Taco. Apart from the obvious refueling perk, this program also allows you to see places you might not normally ride by or visit, and thus brings new customers to businesses and new haunts to you! Deals on offer include lavender (and regular) lemonade, hot dogs, pizza, health juices, lemon ice, knishes, sandwiches, and more from various local vendors in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens. (more…)

Bike parking at BAM: not the same as it ever was. Photo via BAM.

David Byrne is a pioneering musician, Brooklyn resident, author, bicycling advocate and all-around nice guy who loves doing cool stuff for his community (see his awesome 2009 free show at Prospect Park, at which he gave away a bike, then biked to the after party at High Dive). So to further his rad factor, BAM today finished installing new bright blue bike racks that Byrne designed, replacing the boring, utilitarian racks that were there before. The racks spell out “pink crown” on the left of the entrance and “micro lip” on the right, in special “David Byrne Bike Rack alphabet” that was created for the project (whatever that means). (more…)

This picture was in May, now a year before bike share will actually launch.

This was supposed to be the summer of bike share, but the only bike sharing we saw was some guy on my block who decided he wanted to “share” the front wheel of my bike, and never return it. Mayor Booo-mberg said today that what will eventually be the country’s largest bike share program now won’t roll out until spring 2013 (it was originally supposed to be this July) at the earliest, due to unspecified “software issues.” And as we know, a bike is nothing without its software. So what to do until then? Get some damn wheels of your own, obvs. Here’s some options to help fill the void, from free bike rentals to cheap ones for sale. (more…)

You can see these demo stations around the city, but still no bike stations.

The Citi Bike bike share program has been building up its buzz campaign for months now, as you may have noticed them outside events such as the Brooklyn Flea just about every weekend. So we asked one of the reps at the Flea on Saturday: what gives with the ambiguous July launch date? He told us the launch isn’t going to happen until at least August now. The manufacturer of the program’s custom-made bikes has fallen behind schedule and the city only has about half of the bikes it needs to launch the first phase of the program in the initial 600 stations. Streets Blog today points us to Twitter messages confirming the program is still weeks away from launching. So we wait and wait, because even that Citi Bank sponsorship money wasn’t enough to get them in on time. (more…)

Either this is the start of some awesome Batman-esque samaritan vigilantism, or an absurdly elaborate scheme to take your wallet along with your bike. Our friend Alan Belsky spotted this on Court Street yesterday, and he says the signs are posted everywhere between Schermerhorn and Atlantic. (more…)

My local bike rack that the security guard said was a "safe bet" for parking. I passed.

With all the hullabaloo about new bike lanes and the nascent bike share program, you would think New York would be a bicycle haven. And this being National Bike Month, and Bike to Work Week, you think everyone would ditch their cars and ride to the office. But there’s a problem that plagues car and bicycle commuters alike: where do I park this damn thing? Midtown’s canyons of skyscrapers may wow the tourist, but to the bike commuter it’s a maze of 60-story tall “No Parking” signs. Where are health- and environmentally-conscious commuters supposed to put these things during the work day?

I got a new job in the big city and was pleased to find a little sign at our lobby sign-in desk that said “Bicycle Access Plan.” With nice weather on the way, I believed could finally wean myself off super-expensive monthly subway passes by riding the 8 miles or so to work under my own power. But bike racks are sparse, the building won’t let me bring it in, and the cost for a bike parking spot (already an absurd idea) makes me feel like I might as well have a car. I took to the internet to do some investigating. (more…)

So you dusted off the ole bicyclette and are ready to roll to all the summer staples. Or maybe you’ve heard that our Citibank CitiBikes are almost here for the riding, but you’re still a little shook by all those bike accident reports. NY Bike Lawyers want to hold your hand with their free Bike Crash app. Available for iPhone and Android, it’s got the whole NYC yellow cab theme (hopefully indicating, um, what will NOT be crashing into you.)

In the event of your making undesired contact with a bigger wheeled beast, the app offers text fields for recording relevant data for all involved parties – driver’s license, home address, insurance details, etc. But if said collision was particularly nasty, odds are you’ll not be in the best shape for note-taking. Oh, clever app designers to anticipate your every whim: the app also features media options like voice notes, photo capture and one-click call-911, so that assistance might come swiftly to your shaken self. (more…)

Mo pedaling, mo money.

It’s a good time to be a biker in the city: bike lanes are appearing all over; the weather’s turning nicer; and now, small businesses are offering discounts and free stuff for people who arrive via bicycle. Bike NYC, the city’s new hub for “all things bicycling,” lists a lot of these on its deals page. Most are 10 percent to 25 percent off various food joints such as the Pulp and Bean in Crown Heights, but there are discounts on passes to Brooklyn Boulders and even merchandise at The Little Lebowski Shop if you arrive on two wheels. Strangely, there are no bike shops in the listings…

So what are you waiting for? This is the closest thing we’ve got to a tax on cars, so take advantage of it.

Looks like Atlantic Terminal is getting a bike rack.

Things are swinging  over at the NYC Bike Share, which is supposed to launch this summer. So what do we know so far? Here’s what:

• The exact pricing scheme hasn’t been determined, but here’s the latest from the DOT: “an annual membership will cost $60-95, weekly passes will be $20-25 and a 24-hr pass will be $5-10. Membership entitles you to an unlimited number of free short trips (probably 30 minutes). For trips longer than the free period, you pay a small usage fee, $1-2. But don’t worry; you can always dock the bike at any station and start a new free trip.” Here are more Bike Share FAQs. (more…)